Wednesday, 14 November 2007

The VLT Sampler Stole

Well here as promised are the final photos of the VLT shawl. I can't quite believe it's finished if truth be known I don't think it has really sunk in yet.

This has been my biggest lace project to date and I've definitely had a love hate relationship with it at times. I know it's been on the needles since 6th April this year but it hasn't taken me all that time to knit. I had a few sessions on it between April and June and it was only then I knew if I was to complete it I would have to set a specific time aside for it so it became my Sunday & Monday knitting, aka my days off! Once I got into this routine I quite enjoyed knitting the stole. I liked the fact there are 8 different patterns in it so it didn't get monotonous and it did give me my first introduction to Knitted Lace as opposed to Lace knitting. That first pattern repeat of 'D' was horrendous! After awhile I got used to patterning on the WRS and stopped panicing and just made sure I moved my lifeline up every few rows rather than after every pattern repat.

The Close Up's:Pattern BPattern CPattern DPattern EPattern FPattern GPattern HPattern IBorder & EdgingThis is not for me but for my mum for Christmas, she chose the pattern and also the colour, she has seen bits of it when I was knitting but she hasn't seen it for awhile so she has no idea how it looks....I quite liked the yarn once I got used to it. The service was excellent from them, when I ordered the two extra skeins a week last Sunday (from France) they arrived Tuesday. The only downside I have is that in every hank there was at least 1 knot, most hanks having 2 or 3 and in one hank I had 4 knots :o( I have to admit this has put me off using their yarn in the future which is a shame as you can see from their website they have a huge range of colours and the yarn is nice.....Overall am quite satisfied with my achievement :o)

Hello Littleberry,What a lovely piece of knitted lace, lucky mother!I am very sorry about the knots. It is because the wool is hand immersion dyed and although I tie it in several places it invariably becomes tangled in the dyeing process. Was you shade 1707 or 8. If so it has been over-dyed with woad, giving it yet one more chance to tangle! Winding can then be a nightmare. I deliberately leave any knots I have to tie long so people can see them coming and take precautions. But the majority of the colours are easier to wind and not EVERY hank has a knot in it.Thank you for your wonderful work and honest feedback. I will definitely try harder in future.best wishesAndie Luijkwww.renaissancedyeing.com